Kickstarter Campaign: Flip Grip lets you play Switch games vertically

Fangamer, maker of video game collectibles, is seeking Kickstarter funding for a new device called the “Flip Grip.” It’s a Nintendo Switch holster that lets you play select games in their vertical orientation. It was announced by Retronauts podcaster and classic gamer Jeremy Parish. He’s working with Mike Choi on the development of the device.

It was teased in March as a way to hold the Switch and the Joy-Cons (both of them) comfortable with the screen vertically mounted. The vertical aspect ratio allows use of all the screen’s real estate and some games benefit from this, such as re-release arcade games, shoot ’em ups, and even pinball emulators. 21 Switch games support vertical play with at least 7 on the way. Some games include Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Stern Pinball, Gunbird, and Ikaruga.

The device uses a piece of durable injection-molded plastic to lock the Switch screen in a holster that’s about half the width of the Switch and has two rails on both sides to hold the Joy-Cons. The grip partially covers the Switch’s vents, but the devs say air flow won’t be an issue. The headphone jack, game card, and SD card slots are all still in full access, but charging it will be an issue. Also, the system’s UI won’t rotate before you launch the game, so you’ll have to tilt you head in the meantime to start it up.

It should be available by October and is already designed and ready for delivery. The campaigns hopes to raise $45,000 with $12 per person, and Paris seems to be delivering more than he can promise. Regardless, we’ll have to see how it turns out. It’s already reached over $80,000 at the time of this writing. Overdelivery is always good.

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